Nepenthes, and the Quest for the Perfect Soil

[Marigoldsfail21]

(I type too much, so skip to the second paragraph, because that's the point of this thread)

Recently, I had enough time to observe my nepenthes a bit more closely than I usually do. I ended up sifting through the soil mixture to check on how healthy the roots of the plants were, to see in general how my nepenthes were liking their conditions. All my nepenthes are in a 3:1 mix of coconut husk and sphagnum moss, and origionaly I thought that this mix drained really well. The soil mix in the pots, however, breaks down pretty fast; lower down in the soil, particles built up and held water like pure peat moss. Higher up in the soil, it would dry out faster, because most of the large peices of the soil remained in that area. The sphagnum on the surface of the mix turned black, and broke down very quickly(maybe from wetting and drying out so frequently), and looks like it caused even more particles to go to the bottom and reduce drainage. I also remember there being alot of salt build up in the lower areas of the mix. So, the majority of my nepenthes have poor root systems.


If anyone would be nice enough to share their Nepenthes secret soil mixes, go ahead! I remember some threads about burnt earth,how is that working for growers using it?


Also, does anyone know if there is a difference between horticultural charcoal and charcoal for water filter. (also called activated carbon, I think)

[Marigoldsfail21]

To help develop a successful mix of my own I'll be doing some experiments with N. madagascariensis, and, depending on if I have enough space, I'll test between 3-6 different soil mixes(I'll need 4-7 plants since there will be a control also).

Possible mixes I'll try:

1:1 LFS to perlite*

?:? mix of polemer gel to bits of packaging peanuts(the kind that dosen't dissolve in water)

Pure LFS

Pure Cocoapeat

1:1 mix of Live sphagnum to orchid bark

2:1:1 mix of orchid bark to cocoapeat to charcoal

The control will be the mix I'm now using- 3:1 coconut husk to LFS

*- I read in CLiff Dodd's articles at (http://borneoexotics.com/files/cliffDod.htm) that perlite releases flourides and that hurts nepenthes. Can anyone here confirm this?

?:? mix of polemer gel to bits of packaging peanuts

I still have to determine what ratio would be best to try for this mix. This is the mix I am most curious about, since it is entirely artificial, with no organic matter in it.


It will likely be a while before I do this, since I still have to order the plants. I just want to notify anyone who is interested.

[strath76]

Sounds like a good idea Marigold. I have heard that cocopeat breaks down quickly and has a high salt content but i haven't used it myself.

I use a couple of different mixes and just keeping changing the media for individual plants until they start gowing well. If it looks like a plant is struggling I change the mix. I am currently using pure LFS for some plants (I think a gracilis and raff from memory), a mix of about equal parts peat/sand/pine bark (the type orchid growers use) and a third mix of equal parts LFS and pine bark.

All three seem to work for individaul plants. Obviously the peat mix is the worst drained with the highest water holding capacity but I put a x rokko into this after 6 months of no growth and it has now taken off with almost half a dozen small pitchers.

Please keep us informed of your results. It will be interesting to see how the different mixes go with one species. It would also be good to see if people with a bit of space can try the experiment with a few different species to try and come up with mixes for individual species.

[Pananep]

For all my neps, I use a mix of 1:1:1:1:1 perlite, vermiculite, orchid coco chips, sphagnum peat moss, LFS. When potting up lowlanders I use the same but I use a greater percentage of peat moss. I believe this is ok, the plants seem to be growing alright.
However, I want to create a new mix that improves air circulation around the roots. I wanted to add to my current mix something like charcoal or some sort of bark. I was wondering if the bark they sell for reptile terrariums at pet stores would work. Also, when buying charcoal, Is the charcoal that they sell at convenience stores ok? This is the type of charcoal that one brings home for BBQ's. It is not the nugget type, I am talking about natural charcoal that even looks like little bits of wood, only black hehe. Anyways I wanted to know if these two materials would work. My concern arose because in some of my larger neps that are potted with my current mix, the water does drain out almost immediately after watering, although it drains out very slowly and I was wondering if I should be concerned about this. Alright then, I'll appreciate any advice.... Later!

[Victoria]

It sounds like you have it all planned out quite well!

I use a 1:1 mix of coconut husk and course perlite and I have been very please with the results over the past year. I also grow all my Neps in coco lined baskets as they are great for added air to the roots.

I have used coco peat before but was very unhappy with the results as it seemed to become far to compact and didnt seem to have near the airiness as coconut husk....plus I like the look of the coconut husk better.

I look forward to seeing the results as time goes on so please do keep us informed of your progress Marigold!

Happy growing!
Victoria

[alienfx]

I dont believe there is a perfect soil mix.Some mix maybe good for some type of plants and not good for some other types of plant.So,if we can divide by which type of nepenthes likes which type of soil,then it would be great.

[kentosaurs]

Im going for 100% LFS works best for most of my plants.LFS is dead/dried spahgmum moss rite some of my LFS seems to start growing again.And also a little live sphagmum moss on the top will make it look good

Ken

[David]

I've tried the following mix before:

- pure long sphagnum moss
- sphagnum moss + perlite (1:2)
- coconut chips + coconut peat + sphagnum peat + sphagnum moss (3+1+1+1)
- wood bark + sphagnum peat + chopped up sphagnum moss (2+1+1)
- fern tree bark + perlite + chopped up sphagnum moss (2+1+1)

Generally a pure long sphagnum moss does well for me compared to the rest but after about 2 years, the moss compreses and my plants do not look that good. Also slimy algae starts to grow.

I do not have much problem with sphagnum moss + perlite, but somehow my plants are not very happy with this mix. Growth seem to be very slow.

I have similar problems that Marigoaldsfail21 faces for my coconut chip mix. Problem with the top half of the media drying up too fast. But when I place a layer of sphagnum moss on top to lock in the humidity, the neps seem to like it. However, I've just recently started to use this media (in the past 6 months) and would not know how long my plants would be happy in it, especially when the coconut chips start to decompose.

So far the wood bark mix and fern tree bark mix is the best. The fern tree bark does not decompose and so the media does not compress over time. This is great but it's not easy to find in Malaysia and is expensive. Also if the fern tree bark that I buy comes from an old fern tree, I can't break up it's strands even with a hammer (It comes in block of about 1 feet x 1 feet). The wood bark is also good but it will decompose over time.

Fauzi is testing with florafoam with some good results. His plants seem to love it. Need to get an update from him. For those who do not know, this is the material florist use to stick flower stalks in to keep them in place in a basket arrangement. It usually comes in green colour. What Fauzi does is he cut the florafoam into cubes of 1cm x 1cm x 1cm (height x length x width). He then places a layer of sphagnum moss at the bottom and top of the florafoam in the pot. This material does not decompose and ratains water while allowing air between the flaorafoam cubes in the pot. On top of this it is relatively cheap. Have any other members here tried this before? I'm thinking of changing all my neps media to this but the problem is it does not come in cubes, At least I've not seen it yet in Malaysia. You'll have to cut it yourself. Here's how it looks like. Its on the row nearest to you, second from right

[arvin555]

David, that photo of the potting materials, might be a good idea to number them and then we identify what they are, nice for reference.

1 2 3 4 5
6 7 8 9 10

1
2
3 Dried Long Fibered Sphagnum moss?
4 Coco Chips 1cm X 1cm?
5 Cocopeat?
6 Perlite
7 Vermiculite
8 Peat?
9 Florist Foam 1cm X 1cm
10

[David]

Good idea Arvin.

1 2 3 4 5
6 7 8 9 10

1. wood bark
2. chopped up dried sphagnum moss
3. dried long sphagnum moss
4. coconut chips
5. coconut peat
6. perlite
7. river sand
8. sphagnum peat moss
9. flora foam
10. vermiculite